The APA is offering a number of “emerging measures” for further research and

clinical evaluation. These patient assessment measures were developed to be

administered at the initial patient interview and to monitor treatment progress.
They should be used in research and evaluation as potentially useful tools to
enhance clinical decision-making and not as the sole basis for making a clinical
diagnosis. Instructions, scoring information, and interpretation guidelines are
provided; further background information can be found in DSM-5. The APA
requests that clinicians and researchers provide further data on the
instruments’ usefulness in characterizing patient status and improving patient
care at http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Feedback-Form.aspx.

Measure: Severity Measure for Panic Disorder—Adult

Rights granted: This measure can be reproduced without permission by
researchers and by clinicians for use with their patients.
Rights holder: American Psychiatric Association
To request permission for any other use beyond what is stipulated above,
contact: http://www.appi.org/CustomerService/Pages/Permissions.aspx
 Severity Measure for Panic Disorder—Adult
Name:____________________________________ Age: ______ Sex: Male  Female  Date:_________________

Instructions: The following questions ask about thoughts, feelings, and behaviors about panic attacks. A panic
attack is an episode of intense fear that sometimes comes out of the blue (for no apparent reason). The
symptoms of a panic attack include: a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, and fear of losing
control or dying. Please respond to each item by marking ( or x) one box per row.

Clinician
Use
Half of Most of All of the Item
During the PAST 7 DAYS, I have… Never Occasionally
the time the time time score
felt moments of sudden terror, fear or
1. fright, sometimes out of the blue (i.e., a  0  1  2  3  4
panic attack)
felt anxious, worried, or nervous about
2.  0  1  2  3  4
having more panic attacks
had thoughts of losing control, dying, going
3. crazy, or other bad things happening  0  1  2  3  4
because of panic attacks
felt a racing heart, sweaty, trouble
4.  0  1  2  3  4
breathing, faint, or shaky
felt tense muscles, felt on edge or restless,
5.  0  1  2  3  4
or had trouble relaxing or trouble sleeping
avoided, or did not approach or enter,
6. situations in which panic attacks might  0  1  2  3  4
occur
left situations early, or participated only
7.  0  1  2  3  4
minimally, because of panic attacks
spent a lot of time preparing for, or
procrastinating about (putting off),
8.  0  1  2  3  4
situations in which panic attacks might
occur
distracted myself to avoid thinking about
9.  0  1  2  3  4
panic attacks
needed help to cope with panic attacks
10. (e.g., alcohol or medication, superstitious  0  1  2  3  4
objects, other people)
Total/Partial Raw Score:
Prorated Total Raw Score: (if 1-2 items left unanswered)
Average Total Score:
Craske M, Wittchen U, Bogels S, Stein M, Andrews G, Lebeu R. Copyright © 2013 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.
This material can be reproduced without permission by researchers and by clinicians for use with their patients.
Instructions to Clinicians
The Severity Measure for Panic Disorder—Adult is a 10-item measure that assesses the severity of symptoms of
panic disorder in individuals age 18 and older. The measure was designed to be completed by an individual upon
receiving a diagnosis of panic disorder (or clinically significant panic disorder symptoms) and thereafter, prior to
follow-up visits with the clinician. Each item asks the individual receiving care to rate the severity of his or her
panic disorder during the past 7 days.

Scoring and Interpretation

Each item on the measure is rated on a 5-point scale (0=Never; 1=Occasionally; 2=Half of the time; 3=Most of the
time, and 4=All of the time). The total score can range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater severity
of panic disorder. The clinician is asked to review the score of each item on the measure during the clinical
interview and indicate the raw score for each item in the section provided for “Clinician Use.” The raw scores on
the 10 items should be summed to obtain a total raw score. In addition, the clinician is asked to calculate and use
the average total score. The average total score reduces the overall score to a 5-point scale, which allows the
clinician to think of the severity of the individual’s panic disorder in terms of none (0), mild (1), moderate (2),
severe (3), or extreme (4). The use of the average total score was found to be reliable, easy to use, and clinically
useful to the clinicians in the DSM-5 Field Trials. The average total score is calculated by dividing the raw total
score by number of items in the measure (i.e., 10).

Note: If 3 or more items are left unanswered, the total score on the measure should not be calculated. Therefore,
the individual receiving care should be encouraged to complete all of the items on the measure. If 1 or 2 items
are left unanswered, you are asked to calculate a prorated score. The prorated score is calculated by summing
the scores of items that were answered to get a partial raw score. Multiply the partial raw score by the total
number of items on the Severity Measure for Panic Disorder (i.e., 10) and divide the value by the number of items
that were actually answered (i.e., 8 or 9). The formula to prorate the partial raw score to Total Raw Score is:

___________(Raw sum x 10)_______________

Number of items that were actually answered

If the result is a fraction, round to the nearest whole number.

Frequency of Use
To track changes in the severity of the individual’s panic disorder over time, the measure may be completed at
regular intervals as clinically indicated, depending on the stability of the individual’s symptoms and treatment
status. Consistently high scores on a particular domain may indicate significant and problematic areas for the
individual that might warrant further assessment, treatment, and follow-up. Your clinical judgment should guide
your decision.

Copyright © 2013 American Psychiatric Association. All Rights Reserved.

This material can be reproduced without permission by researchers and by clinicians for use with their patients.